Wanderlei Silva Says He Will Fight On July 5 At UFC 175

It was announced on Wednesday that Wanderlei Silva would not be fighting Chael Sonnen at UFC 175 on July 5. We reported that after last week’s UFC 175 introductory press conference, the Nevada State Athletic Commission asked Sonnen and Silva to submit to a random drug test. Sonnen complied and Silva refused.

Sonnen was on UFC Tonight on Wednesday and claimed that Silva left his gym in Las Vegas when the commission showed up. Silva posted a video yesterday, which you can watch at the top of page explaining what happened.

“This is all a big confusion,” Silva starts off with. “Everything I’ve heard, I heard it, like you, from the Internet. Last Saturday a guy showed up at my gym with several papers in English saying I had to sign the papers. I asked him if all the papers were in English and he said yes. He did not show me any identification. So I told him that I can’t read English very well and I would need my lawyer present to be able to sign any documents. Then I had to leave since it was the day of Barao’s fight and I was really busy here in Vegas.”

Looking for seats to the upcoming UFC 175 event? Get great tickets right now by our friends at Ticket Monster.

Silva then stated that he will still be fighting Sonnen at UFC 175.

“In 20 years of career and 50 professional fights, I never refused to test or failed to apply for a license to fight. My fight will be in Las Vegas on July 5th so we were more than one month from the fight. And my plans were to do all my obligations once I get back from Brazil since I’m going to Brazil for the TUF Brazil Finale. Once I am back in Las Vegas I will reach out to the NSCA to submit myself to any blood or urine tests like I have always done.

“If this fight doesn’t happen, it will be very difficult for me. I’ve invested all my time and I’ve gone through a lot to make this fight happen. I’ve had to deal with a lot of pressure, and I went through a lot on TUF Brazil 3. And I’ve been putting all my strength and effort into my training camp. I’ve trained harder than I ever trained in my life.

“This is the fight I wanted most in my entire life. And I will do everything I can to make this fight happen. All this will get resolved and I will be there on July 5th to put on a great show for all of you my friends. I will show out force and will power and I will achieve one more victory for us.”

About Steve Muehlhausen

Steven was a featured UFC columnist for Bleacher Report and a writer for MMASucka.com. He was also the host of the MMA show "The Fight Club Chicago" which aired for three years at various websites. You can email Steve at stevemuehlhausen@yahoo.com.